There has been an astonishing decline of 79% of the Indian species of birds, but there is also some positive news as the number of Indian peafowls (national bird peacock) has shown a considerable rise, according to the State of India's Birds Report 2020.
The report has also stated that the number of house sparrows have remained "roughly stable" across the country. Its population has shown a rise in the rural areas, but has been on the downward trend in the metropolitan cities.?
The report was released on sidelines of the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP 13) held on February 17.?
The report assessed the status of 867 Indian birds, and revealed a decline of 79 per cent, for which the current trends could be assessed, and 50 per cent, for which long-term trend could be assessed.?
In all, 101 species have been classified as of "high conservation concern".??
On the brighter side, there has been a spike in the population of?Indian peafowl,?both in long-term and currently, it was revealed.
As for the house sparrows, despite the common belief that it is declining in India, the analysis suggests that the species has been "fairly stable overall during the past 25 plus years," it said.??
However, the data from six metropolitan cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai), is a cause for concern as their has been a "gradual decline" in their abundance in urban centres, it added.
The report which used the data uploaded by birdwatchers on the online platform eBird also added that "the analysis indicates that 48 per cent of species have remained stable or are increasing in the long-term (over 25 plus years), while 79 per cent show a decline in the last five years."
Of the 146 species for which current annual trends could be estimated, nearly 80 per cent are declining, with almost 50 per cent declining strongly, it said.
The groups that has shown the greatest of decline are raptors, migratory shorebirds and habitat specialists, among others. The report relied on over 10 million observations contributed by over 15,500 birdwatchers.??
The assessment was based on three crucial indicators - two of change in abundance: long-term trend (over 25+ years) and current annual trend (over the past five years), and the third is a measure of distribution range size.??
According to the report, the current annual trends could be estimated for 146 species. Of these, nearly 80 per cent are declining, with almost 50 per cent declining strongly, it said.
The report is a result of collaboration between 10 research and conservation organisations, including the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Bombay Natural History Society, Wildlife Institute of India, World Wide Fund for Nature India, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History and Wetlands International South Asia, among others.??